Lindy Ruff

Lindy Ruff
Date of birth	February 17, 1960
place of birth	Warburg , Alberta , Canada
size	188 cm
Weight	86 kg
position	defender
Shot hand	Left
Draft
NHL Entry Draft	1979 , 2nd round, 32nd position Buffalo Sabers
Career stations
1976-1977	Taber Golden Suns
1977-1979	Lethbridge Broncos
1979-1989	Buffalo Sabers
1989-1991	New York Rangers
1991-1992	Rochester Americans
1992-1993	San Diego Gulls

Lindy Cameron Ruff (born February 17, 1960 in Warburg , Alberta ) is a former Canadian ice hockey player and current coach who was active for the Buffalo Sabers and the New York Rangers in the National Hockey League . As head coach, he then looked after the Buffalo Sabers and the Dallas Stars . Since July 2020 he has been the head coach of the New Jersey Devils .

Career as a player

Lindy Ruff began his career in 1976 in the Canadian Junior League WCHL, today's Western Hockey League , with the Lethbridge Broncos for which he played until 1979. In the 1979 NHL Entry Draft , he was selected by the Buffalo Sabers in the second round at position 32.

After two defenders of the Sabers failed at the beginning of the 1979/80 season , Ruff took a position on the defensive and was able to fight for a regular place in the team. In the course of his career, however, he often switched between the positions of a forward and a defender. In his first season he made it with the Sabers to second place in the NHL and into the semifinals of the Stanley Cup . He shouldn't get any closer to the Stanley Cup in his playing career.

Because of his leadership skills, the Sabers named him team captain in 1986 . In March 1989 he was transferred to the New York Rangers , where he was only used 83 times in two and a half years.

1991/92 he played for the Rochester Americans in the lower class AHL , before he ended his career after the 1992/93 season with the San Diego Gulls in the IHL .

Lindy Ruff was known for his dedication, leadership and physical toughness.

NHL player stats

	Seasons	Games	Gates	Assists	Points	Penalty minutes
Regular season	12	691	105	195	300	1,264
Playoffs	9	52	11	13	24	193

Career as a coach

Lindy Ruff
Coaching stations
1993-1997	Florida Panthers (assistant coach)
1997-2013	Buffalo Sabers
2013-2017	Dallas Stars
2017-2020	New York Rangers (assistant coach)
since 2020	New Jersey Devils

In 1993, Lindy Ruff hired the newly formed NHL team Florida Panthers as an assistant coach to Roger Neilson . The Panthers had a very good start to their first season for a new team and just missed the playoffs by one point behind the New York Islanders . In the 1994/95 season they failed again by one point to get into the finals. Head coach Neilson was sacked and replaced by Doug MacLean , Lindy Ruff remained as assistant coach.

The coaching change paid off, in the 1995/96 season the Panthers finished fourth in the Eastern Conference and fought their way in the playoffs from round to round, but lost in the Stanley Cup final in four games against the Colorado Avalanche . In the 1996/97 season they made it to the playoffs again, but this time eliminated in the first round.

After the season, Lindy Ruff got the offer from the Buffalo Sabers, whose captain he was as a player, to become head coach and he signed a contract with his former team on July 21, 1997. Under him, the team achieved some success in the first two years. In 1999 they came to the final of the Eastern Conference and in 2000 to the Stanley Cup final, which they lost to the Dallas Stars .

After two successful years, the Sabers reached the playoffs twice, but failed to qualify three times in a row. It was not until the 2005/06 season that the league made it to the finals and made it to the Eastern Conference final. Since Ruff increased the Sabers result in the regular season by 25 points compared to the previous season, he was honored with the Jack Adams Award as the best coach in the National Hockey League.

At the beginning of the 2006/07 season , the Sabers set the Toronto Maple Leafs starting record with ten wins in a row. And during the rest of the season the Sabers presented themselves in top form. In January 2007, Lindy Ruff was appointed coach of the Eastern Conference for the NHL All Star Game , as his team was at the time in first place in the east. In February 2007, Ruff caused a stir in a game against the Ottawa Senators . After star player Chris Drury was injured after a check by Ottawa's Chris Phillips and there was no penalty, Ruff sent Adam Mair , Andrew Peters and Patrick Kaleta the row with his toughest players on the ice, the Senators best assault row in a mass brawl entangled. A heated argument ensued between Ruff and Ottawa's trainer Bryan Murray , who was general manager of the Florida Panthers when Ruff worked there as an assistant trainer. Lindy Ruff was fined $ 10,000 a few days later by the NHL. The Buffalo Sabers finally finished the regular season as the best team in the NHL and won the President's Trophy for the first time . The main reason for the success was the balanced squad of the team, as with Chris Drury, Jason Pominville , Thomas Vanek and Daniel Brière four players scored at least 30 goals.

On January 6, 2011, Ruff recorded his 500th victory as a coach in the NHL when the Sabers won 3-0 at the San Jose Sharks .

Lindy Ruff was relieved of his duties as Sabers head coach on February 20, 2013 after the Sabers had a bumpy start into the season shortened by the lockout. Up until that point, none of the current NHL coaches had been employed by his team as long as Lindy Ruff. In June 2013 he took over the post of head coach for the Dallas Stars . In Dallas, Ruff reached the playoffs twice and led the stars to the top of the Central Division once, but without being able to establish lasting success. His expiring contract was not renewed after the 2016/17 season, so he was hired by the New York Rangers as assistant to Alain Vigneault in July 2017 .

After three years as assistant coach for the Rangers, he was hired by the New Jersey Devils as head coach in July 2020 .

NHL coaching statistics

Status: end of the 2016/17 season

	Seasons	Games	S.	N	U	OTL
Regular season	19th	1493	736	554	78	125
Playoffs	10	120	66	54	-	-

S = victories; N = defeats; U = tie; OTL = defeat after extra time or shootout

Achievements and Awards

As head coach

• 2006 Jack Adams Award
• 2007 NHL All Star Game ( Eastern Conference Trainer )

Web links

• Lindy Ruff at hockeydb.com (English)
• Lindy Ruff at legendsofhockey.net (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ eishockey-24.de, archived copy ( memento of the original from March 10, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
2. ↑ Stars hire Ruff to become new head coach. The Sports Network , June 21, 2013, accessed June 21, 2013 . 
3. ^ Espn News Services: Ruff named Devils' coach, Fitzgerald stays GM. In: espn.com . July 9, 2020, accessed on July 15, 2020 .